Ericsson releases its 10 hot consumer trends for 2019

AR and VR users want hands-on virtual guidance for tasks such as cooking or making repairs

Ericsson has released the eighth edition of its ConsumerLab trend report, 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2019, representing predictions of 34 million early technology adopters.

The latest edition of the annual report evaluates consumer thoughts and predictions on near-future technology including AI, VR, 5G and automation. The report reveals that autonomous and mood-predictive technology could soon play a bigger role in people’s everyday lives.

Dr. Michael Björn, Head of Research Agenda at Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab, and main author of the report says: “Imagine a smartphone that not only knows what you do but also knows who you are. Today, artificial intelligence can understand your personality just by looking into your eyes. It’s clear that technology adopters see a future where our devices know us better than we know them.”

On whether we should see this near-future technology as a threat or an opportunity, Dr. Pernilla Jonsson, Head of Consumer & IndustryLab says: “We have already entered the age when humans and intelligent machines are interacting and working together. So far, we’ve only taken small steps into the future. Most of the zero-touch future is yet to be developed – and how we create that future is still in our hands.”

The insights in the report are based on Ericsson ConsumerLab’s global research activities over more than 23 years, and primarily draw on data from an online survey conducted during October 2018 of advanced internet users in 10 influential cities across the world.